Rose City Kids

Vital Stats

Elise W

  • people helped110
  • People Doing It 25

The Problem

We are a group of youth and adults that just want to make a difference in the lives of children. The community we are helping (welland, ON) has a population of 50,000 and is the 87th largest city in Canada. Almost 20% of the population is under 14 years of age. There are over 2600 single parents in Welland, which shows that there are alot of broken homes that children grow up in. In 2001 statistics stated that 20% of children in Niagara live in poverty, with Welland being the lowest average income of just over $10,000. 14.9% of the city's population are defined as "low income". Welland is also considered a "drug city". It has the second highest drugs per person in North America, behind Los Angelos. We are not trying to solve poverty, but it is an issue that we face, that we can help. The statistics above are to show you a picture of who we work with. The children in our program are faced with so many difficulties, including poverty, single parent homes, etc. We want to make a difference in the lives of these children by encouraging them to dream big dreams, to instill positive morals and values, to influence them to make good decisions, and impact the outcome of their lives.

Plan of Action

Well, the concept was thought of in September of 2007. In January, a board was created and a key team of volunteers was formed. Meetings were established on a regular basis. A meeting was held in Welland with the mayor to make awareness as well as to determine if there weren't other programs like this being run in Welland. March 2008 we had our first saturday program. To create awareness we went door to door around the community with brochures and registration forms. As well we participated in the Welland spring parade. It was a difficult start because we could only afford one bus, so we couldn't go around the whole city, so we made a bus route that went through a section of the city, and if children from other areas wanted to come, they had to be brought in by their parents. For our first program, we had 13 kids. In the summer months, we became affiliated with a similar program called Hamilton City Kidz. Now, we have over 60 children registered, with a goal of 100 by Christmas. We have only done 13 Saturday programs, but already we have had testimonies from parents about how their children have changed since coming to Rose City Kids. Children have also been able to open up with leaders about the personal problems that they face, we have built a trust relationship with the parents through house visits, schools in Welland are promoting children to join our program, and churches are on board with us. As well, the city of Welland (mayor)is supporting us, and soon our program is going to be added to the City of Welland's website. We have support from all areas.
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Homelessness and Poverty
Bullying and Violence

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